The U.S. Capitol Will Soon Look Like This

Story by the Associated Press; Curated by Oliver Darcy.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A world-famous symbol of democracy is going under cover, as workers start a two-year, $60 million renovation of the U.S. Capitol dome.

An animation of how the Capitol will look like as it undergoes a major restoration. (Image source: Screen grab via YouTube)

Curved rows of scaffolds will encircle the dome like Saturn's rings starting this spring. They will allow contractors to strip paint and repair more than 1,000 cracks and broken cast iron pieces.

The dome will remain illuminated at night and partly visible through the scaffolding.

Repairs to water damage inside will require a partial covering of the huge frescoed ceiling in the Capitol's Rotunda.

Cracks in the 150-year-old dome have allowed water to penetrate for years. The last major renovation was in 1960.

The project is starting just as the nearby Washington Monument sheds scaffolding that was used to repair damage from a 2011 earthquake.

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